Hahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahaha wow I am awful I am so sorry to all of you for taking so horribly long to emerge from my hiding place.
I cannot believe I haven't updated since September . . . that is truly despicable of me . . . . During that space of time I have applied (and gotten into) college, been working two jobs, been taking tests and officially graduating high school, and been wishing desperately that I didn't have the worst case of writers block I've ever had in my whole life.
I had most of this chapter written, but just finished it today. I've barely touched any of my writing for more than a month, and then it was only my original work, which I am trying to publish before I leave for college in January.
I deeply apologize for my extended absence, and I hope I can make it up to you.
Guest reviews:
Guest: I have, at long last, written more.
Other Guest: ;) Sorry, Timmy will hopefully come into play closer to the end of the fanfiction, but for now he shall have to stay out of the spotlight. I know, I hate it too, but he is not yet training as Robin, and I just can't think of enough plausible reasons for him to come into play.
Now, with barely any further ado, I bring you- chapter 22!
Disclaimer: I'm nearly as bad as the owners at updating, but no, I really super do not own Young Justice.
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Chapter 22
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Gotham City
May 25, 8:44 EDT
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Barbara Gordon may or may not have been cutting class. In fact, she was thinking of skipping school all together. It hadn't been in her original plan for the last weekend of the school year, but one glance at the news before she got to school, and all of a sudden she wanted to run as fast as she could to the nearest Zeta Beam.
"Justice League sidekick taken by Gotham criminal" the headlines blared, and every news site Barbara had seen so far was talking about it. Someone had posted a video to the internet of Catwoman fighting Kid Flash, beating Kid Flash. Then it had gone dark, with a smooth voice telling the world that Kid Flash would never again save the people of Central City.
Barbara had to admit that she was terrified at the possibility that it was true. When Dick had been captured he'd proven the mortality of the heroes, and if Wally was really gone . . . That decided it. Barbara stood from where she was sitting on a stone wall outside of Gotham Academy, and walked as fast as she could towards the nearest Zeta Tube, forgetting that she always kept her comm off when she was at school.
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Unknown place
May 26, 8:52 EDT
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Dick sighed as they finally slowed their pace, coming to a stop in the middle of a stand of trees. He was exhausted, and he was sure Wally was running out of fuel by now as well.
"Alright, we're out of range of Deathstroke and Talia's blocks, you should contact the League and the Team. They're probably all frantic by now," Dick said, sitting down against a tree, relaxing as he realized that there was no Slade here.
Wally groaned and slumped to the forest floor. "Nnnnnn," he mumbled. "Maybe you should do it."
Dick fell silent at that, and found himself strangely reluctant. It wasn't a bad idea, or anything like that, but it had been so long since he'd been able to simply communicate with the Team and the League, that it seemed like it was still impossible. Wally and Catwoman were both watching him, and after a long pause, Dick reached his hand out for the communicator.
Wally detached it from his ear and handed it over.
As Dick placed it in, he was met with a surprising feeling of comfort. It was so familiar, he having helped Batman design it.
He hesitated for a heartbeat, and then pressed his finger to his ear, selecting the button that would send his message out to all channels. "Come in, Team, come in, Justice League. This is Robin."
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Mount Justice
May 26, 8:55 EDT
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Artemis was pacing across the living area when her communicator crackled to life. She froze, bracing herself for bad news. "Come in, Team, come in, Justice League. This is Robin."
Artemis gasped, hearing a crash from the kitchen, where M'gann had been cooking. "ROBIN!" M'gann squealed into the communicator, just ahead of Batman's voice.
"What is your birth date?" he asked swiftly, silencing any other exclamations, "and the color of your eyes, and your mother's first name."
"December 1, 1996, blue, Mary," the familiar voice said simply, without even a moment of hesitation. "All of which are things someone could possibly know about me if they knew my identity, Batman."
"Oh my gosh, it is you!" Artemis exclaimed, her heart racing. "Are you alright? How did you get out? And where's Kid Flash?"
"Hey, stay whelmed, Arty, KF is right here," Robin said calmly. "He and Catwoman came to rescue me, and it didn't totally backfire. Talia helped too, once she realized Deathstroke was going to go AWOL and take me with him."
"What?" Superboy's furious voice broke through.
"Nevermind that!" Robin said. "We're somewhere between Blüdhaven and Metropolis."
"Robin, that's still not a small range," Batman said slowly. "I'll just use Kid Flash's built-in tracker."
"You can't; he broke the tracker," Robin said wryly. "He and Catwoman were playing a game of cat and mouse, and it got a little bit too real. His equipment is more beat up than he is though."
"Well at least there's that," Artemis muttered, feeling a wave of relief rush through her. Wally was safe, Robin was free, and they were trying to come home. Still . . . A feeling of concern swept over her; they weren't home yet, and somehow, inexplicably, Artemis wasn't sure that this was over. She didn't think she'd believe it until Robin was standing in front of her, with that cocky grin on his face.
"Can you narrow it down at all?" Batman asked, and for a moment, Artemis was annoyed by his persistence, but then she realized that he was talking to his son. He was bound to want to get Dick home as soon as possible.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the comm, and Artemis waited with baited breath.
"I'm not sure," Robin said, and Artemis noticed for the first time that her friend sounded absolutely exhausted– and the fact that she could tell he was tired wasn't good. "Catwoman is distracted, and Wally's sense of direction stinks. Can you trace the comm?"
"Yes," Batman said, and Artemis was sure that although he was still following the conversation, he was now working on tracing the conversation as fast as he could.
"Good," Robin breathed. "We've stopped, but we need to hurry this up. It's possible we're being followed."
"I thought you said the League let you go?" Troia said, her voice sharp as she joined the link.
"Not the League, Deathstroke," Robin said. Artemis shivered. She'd researched the assassin once they found out he was training Robin, and the mere thought of him made her uncomfortable. He was a sadistic killer, and although Artemis had no idea what had caused him to go off the deep end, something had clearly pushed him over the edge.
"Robin, I have your coordinates, and I'm heading to your location now," Batman's voice sounded over the comms, making Artemis jump. That had sure been quick. "I'll be there in ten minutes in the batjet."
"With your flying, I'm sure you will be," Robin joked, and Artemis had to stop herself from laughing. At least his sense of humor hadn't been damaged.
At last, Robin was coming home.
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Unknown Place
May 26, 9:09 EDT
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Deathstroke was having no troubles following his apprentice; it had taken him mere moments to realize that Catwoman would backstab him, just as long as it took him to remember that the anti-hero had a thing for Batman.
Now he was tracking the three escapees through the woods, cursing the League of Shadows. Talia had clearly allowed them to escape, which probably meant she had a soft spot for his apprentice as well.
Nevermind . . . It would not take long before the speedster and the cat burglar were both dead, and his apprentice was once more training by his side.
In fact, Deathstroke thought, catching sight of a flash of yellow in the trees ahead, the former hero would find himself becoming an assassin much sooner than he thought.
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Well, let's all hope that I don't go on another three month break with that nice cliffhanger, shall we?
Thank you to all of you who have reviewed and supported my story so far :)